Thousands of pensioners across the country have little hope of experiencing theretirement lifestyle they would have wished for due to low annuity rates.

Any chance of a comfortable pension pot may have crumbled as annuity rates fall and high inflation eats away at what little is left.

UK adults are living longer, working less and spending more. According to the Office for National statistics, two thirds of men and three quarters of women now reach the age of 75. With this in mind, it can be hard to see a viable way of planning for your future financially, especially in such a fragile economy.Britain may be on the brink of another recession and there is not much that those edging towards retirement can do personally about the low interest rates and high inflation. However, there are some forms of financial protection against sudden falls in the value of investment funds.

By the year end Harlequin Air will hit the skies for the exclusive benefit of all guests intending staying at any of the Harlequin resorts but the first to benefit will be the guests staying at the new 5* Buccament Bay Resort in St Vincent and next year Harlequin destinations in Barbados and St Lucia. There are plans for a scheduled service between St Lucia and San Juan for US-based guests. The fleet of 9-seater planes, to be based in St Lucia, will provide: swift and seamless transfer between islands for transatlantic flights; visits to other hotels and resorts; and excursions. To book a holiday at Buccament Bay or if interested in an investment in one of the resort properties please follow the link to my contact page and leave your details – CONTACT PAGE.

The Harlequin Performing Arts Academy is excited to announce that stars of the West End stage, Nathan Martin and James Gillan, will be coaching and performing at Buccament Bay Resort from 14th November 2011 until 27th January 2012.

James Gillan will be familiar to theatre-goers for his performances in musicals such as Les Miserables, Tommy (for which he was nominated for an Olivier award) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, whilst viewers of ITV’s Popstar to Operastar will recognise prolific performer and musical director Nathan Martin as one of the vocal coaches on the series.

The Academy’s Executive Producer, Michael McCarthy, is delighted to have signed the pair: "With their experience and quality, James and Nathan will ensure that Buccament Bay continues to be set alight by dazzling performances."

Also set to coach and perform are our very own international star of Les Miserables, Michael McCarthy, and our Executive Music Supervisor and West End conductor, Stephen Hill. They will be at Buccament Bay Resort for two weeks from 31st October until 11th November 2011.

If you want to experience and learn from the best in musical theatre at the resort offering the best in Caribbean luxury, please get in contact OR if you wish to invest in Buccament Bay or any of the Harlequin 5* Resorts follow the investment link below.CONTACT PAGE - INVESTMENT LINK

There are lots of things to consider before moving overseas, to make sure that everything goes well.Find out if you get free health care. You should do if you’re in the EU, but it may not be as all-embracing as on the NHS. In some countries, you’ll have to go private for all your treatments.Decide if you can afford to keep the place for your exclusive use. Will you need to rent it out, to make ends meet?Find out if your pension will freeze, ie not go up automatically with inflation. It might do, if you move outside the European Union.Choose between living with the locals (for the authentic experience), or with expats (good if you don’t speak the language).Think jet lag and journey time – how many hours’ difference between your foreign home and GMT? Or BST, for that matter?How much tax will you have to pay? Will you be better off if you are classified as a tax resident of the country you have moved to? Or not? Will you even have a choice? Be wary of burning your British property bridges. Where will you live if your foreign life goes pear-shaped and you have to come back to the UK?Work out how dependent you’ll be on low-cost airlines. What happens if they stop flying to your overseas location?Study the local inheritance laws. Can you pass on your property to family members, and if so, how much tax will they have to pay?Do your currency sums. What happens if the pound plummets – or soars?To help find that perfect 2nd home just let us know what you are looking for and we will try source it for you - LINK - At the moment we have a villa on the western Algarve reduced from €1,750,000 TO €800,000 where if required purchase payments can be spread over 2 years ALSO on the Entre Naranjos Golf Course in Alicante we have a 2 bedroomed apartment on the top floor with its own Solarium for only €52,000 - LINK

BE WARNED - Landbanking scams, where unsuspecting investors are persuaded to buy agricultural land at vastly inflated prices, are on the increase.That was the warning this week from the government's Insolvency Service, which revealed that the amount lost by UK investors since 2007 alone totals more than £30m. These are 'known losses' relating to 49 firms shut down in the past four years – it is estimated that total losses from all landbanking scams exceed £200m.The research also reveals that the average amount invested and lost by the victim of a landbanking scam is around £23,000. However, it is thought the biggest sum allegedly lost in the UK by one person or family is £618,000.Investors cannot make any claim against the Financial Services Compensation Scheme because the firms behind the landbanking are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority.Landbanking companies typically buy up agricultural or other land without residential planning permission, then divide it into small segments and sell these to investors. Purchasers are led to expect that their bit of farmland will get the go-ahead for housing development, which would see it soar in value.These firms often employ hard-sell tactics to persuade people to buy. Many of those targeted are older people with a lump sum or an inheritance to invest, who may be pulled in by the spiel suggesting that, at a time of low savings rates, this is a high-yield investment with a relatively quick turnaround time. However, the plots being marketed are often green-belt land or sites of special scientific interest, which are not likely to get planning permission. Some of the firms use forged documents carrying a Land Registry stamp as an "official guarantee" that their plots already have, or will gain, permission for homes.The Insolvency Service said that since 2009 it had seen a 33% surge in the number of complaints received about landbanking schemes, adding that it had noticed "an increasing amount of activity in this area".An analysis of a sample of 35 landbanking victims from four scams closed down since mid-2009 shows that almost half (44%) were over 60. The oldest investor was 85. It seems that men are more likely than women to be targeted.Officials said some of those ripped off are people you might think would know better and would be less vulnerable to such scams. Victims can just as easily be professional people and wealthy investors from overseas. However, the Insolvency Service has found it difficult to find people who are prepared to go on the record and speak publicly about what has happened to them, perhaps because they are worried about the harm it may do to their reputation.

Inflation soared to 5.2 per cent in September, the highest level for three years, leaving savers with fewer ways to earn a real return on their savings. Inflation figures released on Tuesday show that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) -the index used by the government to measure inflation - rose from 4.5 per cent in August to 5.2 per cent in September.According to the Office for National Statistics, this is the highest level since September 2008 when CPI was also 5.2 per cent. It said the biggest upward pressure in inflation came from increases in gas and electricity charges. Over the past few months, consumers have seen a rapid rise in domestic gas and electricity bills, with annual bills rising to £1,345 a year for the average household, double the £740 average five years ago.Figures from Moneyfacts, the independent financial information provider, the latest rise in inflation means there are no regular savings accounts that beat inflation in the current market.To beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20 per cent needs to find a savings account paying 6.5 per cent, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40 per cent needs to find an account paying at least 8.67 per cent.FOR AN INFLATION BEATING INVESTMENT 12 MONTH INSURED LOAN NOTE - LINK

If I offered you 10% GUARANTEED in one year for a minimum £10,000 investment (Plus your investment back GUARANTEED!)... You would think I am Crazy! I can do this...If you want 24% in 2 years GUARANTEED... I CAN DO THIS!!!! CONTACT ME NOW ..... BEFORE THIS SELLS OUT!LINK TO INFORMATION PAGE - LOAN NOTE

Thanks to a strong economy Turkey is without doubt one of the hottest places to invest in residential property at the moment, good banking policies and growing national and international demand for homes in Turkey to rent and buy. Despite the global downturn, Turkey has seen an average 4.3% annual increase in GDP for the last seven years, and the OECD (Organisationfor Economic Cooperation and Development) reports that if this growth continues, Turkey is set to have the third highest economic growth rate after China and India by 2017.Residential property prices appreciated by an average of 6% in 2010 and with a chronic shortage of homes across the country,prices are being tipped to rise further.Stuart Law, Chief Executive of Assetz, said: “Turkey's separation from the single currency has been an advantage during the global downturn. The property market is underpinned by a strong economy with a growing tourism sector, which can be converted into solid rental yields for investors".The property market in Turkey has been supported in part by growing tourism which is driving higher demand for holiday homes. The country received 28.6m visitors in 2010.Ray Withers, director of Property Frontiers, says: "Thanks to huge waves of tourists to the country over the years with some 1.4 million Arab tourists visiting the country between January to August this year alone, it seems everyone wants a piece of Turkey. Certainly, for investors, the Turkish government's plan to make the tourist industry reach 15% of its GDP by the year 2020 will be a big attraction.” He added: “It is probably one of the hottest markets on the planet.”5* Property available in Akbuk prices from £49,000 with a 2 year 8% rental guarantee the properties are also Sippable. - LINK to property details

The aggregate shortfall of UK corporate pension schemes soared in September and is now at its second-highest level, new industry data show, as falling markets and bond yields sharply reduced returns.The UK’s Pension Protection Fund – the safety net for underfunded pension schemes at insolvent employers – said the aggregate deficit of all schemes soared to£196.4bn at the end of last month, from £117.5bn at the end of August. It is not far off the record £208.6bn shortfall in March 2009, at the depth of the recession.

Following a summer in which Britain tripped on its own shoelaces in economic terms, the Bank of England has ridden to the rescue and announced another £75bn in quantitative easing. This could provide a much-needed shot in the arm. The BoE puts the impact of the previous round of £200bn quantitative easing (following the 2008 crash) at between 1.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent GDP. Of course, the bank cannot guarantee QE2 can provide an equal boost – but it is optimistic. (For blog followers that don’t know, quantitative easing is the process of injecting funds – hence, shot in the arm - into the market in hopes that businesses use the cash to invest. This then prompts economic growth.) BoE heroics aside, data from Britain in the last week has, in fact, been on the sunny side. Output in the dominant Services sector leapt to 51.1 last month according to the latest PMI - beating expectations of a decline to 48.9. This tells us that Services continues to expand in spite of the economic doom and gloom. In addition, the latest Price Producer Index (measuring the change in prices charged on domestic output) jumped to 1.7 per cent last month against 1.4 per cent forecasts. Turning to the Eurozone, economic conditions continue to resemble an old piece of bread that has been left in the sun too long: becoming rapidly mouldy. Last month, EU retail sales dived -1.0 per cent - collapsing more than 0.2 per cent expectations. In addition, German factory orders dropped -1.4 per cent. In fact, so dire has the situation become that French and German leaders Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy clubbed together over the weekend promising to announce a once-and-for-all solution to Eurozone woes at an upcoming G20 conference. The markets await this with baited breath.In light of ongoing Eurozone turmoil, the US dollar has gone from strength to strength as investors flee to safe haven currencies. This is although economic data from the US has been tepid at best. For instance, the latest Non-Farm Payroll data (measuring new jobs created in non-agricultural areas) beat expectations – jumping to 103k last month against 73k forecasts. This though is beneath the 125k figure needed to reduce the US unemployment rate.Currency dealings - link